OU Poets is full of talented writers, one of whom is Mariana Gardner. Widely published Mariana is to share her expertise in a course entitled Poetry of Hours on the 4th May at Somerset House, Strand, London.

Mariana explains: ‘In this session, we shall explore the loss of love, i.e. the death of a beloved, the end of a relationship, the betrayal of a lover, the pain and sorrow of losing love. We shall read and discuss verse written by George Bacovia (1881–1957), Romania’s greatest symbolist poet, and write new poems inspired by the participants’ own photographs, focusing on what had occurred before the picture was taken, in the very moment of taking the snapshot and what might have happened after. We shall also consider drafting, editing and titling our new poems before rehearsing and performing them and finishing with a final round of feedback on the work. ‘

M.C. Gardner, MSc is an alumna of Southbank Centre New Poets Collective 2022-2023. She is an Anglo-Romanian author of several books of bilingual verse and prose focused on the human condition and diversity, on love altered by time, on impressions of exile and alienation. She is also an essayist and a literary translator.

Sounds a fascinating session!